To continue with our month of financial literacy education, Savvy Student's latest blog focuses on a little known day of great importance in the United States.
What is "Tax Freedom Day?"
Today is April 18th. A day which does not generally suggest an international or national holiday or cause for widespread celebration. However, this year April 18th is a rather important, yet unknown day. It's Tax Freedom Day! If you're wondering what Tax Freedom Day is or why you should care about it, read on...
Every year, Tax Freedom Day marks the day of the year "when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year" (McBride, William). For all of the people who like figures, here are some compelling numbers for you: "In 2013, Americans will pay $2.76 trillion in federal taxes and $1.45 trillion in state taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.22 trillion, or 29.4 percent of income" (McBride, William). At this point, you may be wondering why this day matters or why we're dedicating one of our financial literacy blogs to this day.
The interesting aspect of this year's Tax Freedom Day is that it is occurring five days later than it did last year. What does that mean? Essentially, it took us five days longer to earn enough money to pay our total tax bill for the year than it did in 2012. Why is this? William McBride credits this "mainly to the fiscal cliff deal that raised federal taxes on individual income and payroll" (McBride, William). While this may seem alarming, find relief in the fact that the latest ever Tax Freedom Day was on May 1st in the year 2000.
Whether you find this news alarming, irrelevant, or confusing, we hope that this small tidbit of information has allowed you to expand your understanding of your personal finances, finance in general, and your role in the financial situation of our country.
Happy learning!
~Savvy Student
What is "Tax Freedom Day?"
Today is April 18th. A day which does not generally suggest an international or national holiday or cause for widespread celebration. However, this year April 18th is a rather important, yet unknown day. It's Tax Freedom Day! If you're wondering what Tax Freedom Day is or why you should care about it, read on...
Every year, Tax Freedom Day marks the day of the year "when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year" (McBride, William). For all of the people who like figures, here are some compelling numbers for you: "In 2013, Americans will pay $2.76 trillion in federal taxes and $1.45 trillion in state taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.22 trillion, or 29.4 percent of income" (McBride, William). At this point, you may be wondering why this day matters or why we're dedicating one of our financial literacy blogs to this day.
The interesting aspect of this year's Tax Freedom Day is that it is occurring five days later than it did last year. What does that mean? Essentially, it took us five days longer to earn enough money to pay our total tax bill for the year than it did in 2012. Why is this? William McBride credits this "mainly to the fiscal cliff deal that raised federal taxes on individual income and payroll" (McBride, William). While this may seem alarming, find relief in the fact that the latest ever Tax Freedom Day was on May 1st in the year 2000.
Whether you find this news alarming, irrelevant, or confusing, we hope that this small tidbit of information has allowed you to expand your understanding of your personal finances, finance in general, and your role in the financial situation of our country.
Happy learning!
~Savvy Student
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